By Tigran Grigoryan In recent days, the confrontation between Armenia’s ruling party and the Armenian Apostolic Church has reached a new level of escalation. On December 17, a group of bishops–who had earlier publicly demanded the resignation of Catholicos Karekin II and had also met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan–issued a statement calling on the […]
By Tigran Grigoryan Armenia’s domestic political life continues to be dominated by the ruling party’s confrontation with the Church leadership. In its attempt to dethrone Catholicos Garegin II, Prime Minister Pashinyan has adopted a two-fold approach in recent months. On the one hand, he has sought to create cleavages within the Church by finding loyalists […]
By Tigran Grigoryan On November 22, Yerevan hosted the first conference of Armenia’s state administration representatives, an event attended by more than 7,000 state and municipal employees. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan delivered a keynote speech packed with political and ideological messages – many of which are expected to form the backbone of the ruling party’s […]
By Tigran Grigoryan and Tatev Ghazaryan On November 13, at 7 a.m., masked officers of Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) raided the homes of opposition bloggers and activists Narek Samsonyan and Vazgen Saghatelian, arresting both men. Later the same day, they were charged with hooliganism and placed in two months’ pre-trial detention. Law enforcement also […]
By Tigran Grigoryan In recent months, developments in Armenia’s domestic political life have increasingly reflected a serious democratic backslide. The country’s law enforcement and judicial systems have been instrumentalized to serve the ruling party’s internal political interests. Selective justice, the use of disproportionate legal measures, and illegal wiretapping to persecute political opponents have become commonplace […]
By Tigran Grigoryan On May 30, at the very beginning of the current phase of confrontation between the Armenian Apostolic Church and the country’s ruling party, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made his infamous Facebook post: “Reverend, go on and keep banging your uncle’s wife – what do you want from me?” What initially seemed like a […]
By Tigran Grigoryan On October 15, the Investigative Committee of Armenia detained ten clergymen from the Aragatsotn Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church and conducted a search at the diocesan headquarters. The following day, authorities revealed that three individuals had been formally arrested, including the head of the diocese, Bishop Mkrtych Proshyan. The charges against […]
By Tigran Grigoryan and Tatev Ghazaryan On October 3, Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan was sentenced to two years in prison under the Criminal Code for “making public calls aimed at seizing power, violating territorial integrity, or overthrowing the constitutional order, using publicly displayed works, mass media, or information and communication technologies.” The charge is based on an […]
By Tatev Ghazaryan The Anti-Corruption Committee recently closed a criminal investigation into alleged illegal donations to the ruling Civil Contract (CC) party in 2022. The case, which had been opened on the grounds of large-scale unlawful campaign contributions, was terminated without any prosecutions. This decision, coupled with clear violations in CC’s financing process, raises serious concerns about the […]
